Bob Nieman

Bob Nieman competed in modern pentathlon at the 1976 and 1988 Olympics. He holds an exalted place among American modern pentathletes as the only man to win the World Championship (through 2015), which he did in 1979. Nieman would have been a medal favorite at the 1980 Moskva Olympics, had the US competed, and would have had a shot at the gold medal. Nieman made the 1980 Olympic team both in modern pentathlon and fencing. In 1983 he won a bronze medal in team épée at the Pan American Games. By 1988 he was almost 41-years-old and past his prime as a pentathlete, but still finished 18th individually.

Nieman attended the US Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970, and was a top swimmer there, after having been a state champion in high school near Chicago. He later earned a graduate degree in architecture from Notre Dame in 1978. Nieman started his own architectural practice in San Antonio, Texas, BuiltSmart Resources.